Edge conditioning unit



May 14, 1963 J. LOWINGER 3,039,364

EDGE CONDITIONING UNIT Filed June 5, 1959 s Sheets-Sheet 1 r\\\\ g 5 s K,

2 INVENTOR.

\ JOSEPH LOWINGER ATTORNEYS May 14, 1963 J. LOWINGER EDGE CONDITIONING UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1959 INVENTOR. JOSEPH LQWINGER 01mm, Way/{0W ATTORNEYS May 14, 1963 Filed June 5, 1959 J. LOWINGER 3,089,364

EDGE CONDITIONING UNIT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v- INVENTOR.

w JOSEPH LOWINGVER v BY (We/10m]? fD ATTO RNEYS ite tates te This invention relates as indicated generally to an edge conditioning unit and more particularly to a machine for treating or finishing the edges of metal strips that have been slit or cut from a larger continuous metal strip stock.

As the metal strips leave the slitting devices, the edges are rough and burred. It has been found necessary to remove these burrs and finish the edges of the strips before recoiling or storing these slit strips for shipment.

In the past, such devices have been employed to finish the edges of a slit steel strip but these mechanisms have been generally incapable of being as quickly and readily adapted to changes in a slitting line as desired. As the result of an increase in demand for slitters that will cut a steel strip into many rather narrow smaller strips, the expensive and heavy apparatus known to the art designed to accommodate but a few strips could not readily be adapted to the more modern slitting operations. Apparatus of this type has generally been extremely heavy and of expensive construction and, moreover, it has been virtually impossible quickly and effectively to repair and service without shutting down the entire slitting line for a considerable length of time.

Further-more, such edging devices generally have no simple or convenient method for threading a strip therethrough when one coil of stock has been exhausted and has to be replaced by another. It is generally a long and arduous job rethreading the slit strip through the various pairs of edge conditioning members. ditioning members of each pair must be moved apart to allow the length of strip to be threaded therethrough. Such an operation can be an extremely lengthy process accordingly increasing the down-time of the slitting line and increasing the operating expense.

The edge con- Moreover, as the strip passes through the edge conditioning units, there is apt to be a certain amount of camber in the strip as the result of the slitting operation and dimensional variations in the strip itself. As such strip passes through rigidly mounted edge conditioning units, it is apt to buckle and twist and in this manner decrease the quality of the finished strip.

This invention generally constitutes an improvement over edge conditioning devices of the type shown in the basic patent to C. M. Yoder, 2,335,334, dated November 30, 1943. As the demand has increased for a larger and larger number of narrow strips, it has become necessay to provide a machine such as that shown in the aforementioned Y-oder patent with means to condition, readily and simultaneously, a larger number of strips and, moreover, provide quick threading devices for such large number of strips.

It is accordingly a principal object of my invention to provide an edge conditioning machine wherein the strip may simply and conveniently be threaded therethrough.

It is a further principal object of my invention to provide an edge conditioning unit that may be employed effectively to treat the edges of a large number of strips slit from a single metal strip.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an edge conditioning unit that may be quickly and readily adapted to any number of strips produced by a slitter.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide an edge conditioning unit whereby the edging members may be removed from the slitting line without stopping the operation thereof.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide an edge conditioning unit that may quickly and easily be installed as well as readily serviced or repaired as the occasion demands.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various Ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a slitting line employing an edge conditioning unit constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of such edge conditioning unit;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of such edge conditioning unit;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of such edge conditioning unit taken generally on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 4 but taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation, partially in section, of a stool for such edge conditioning unit;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the stool of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is an end elevation of the stool shown in FIG.

6 as seen from the right thereof.

3. The strip then leaves the tensioning pit 2, passing over idler rollers 4 and into my edge conditioning unit generally illustrated as at 5. From the edge conditioning unit the strips are then recoiled for storage or shipping purposes, as shown at 6.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that my edge conditioning unit comprises a base 7 mounted for movement on rails 8. Secured to the underside of base 7 are pillow blocks 9 having shafts 10 mounted therein for rotation which have keyed on the ends thereof flanged wheels 11. The rails 8 which lie normal to the slitting line may be mounted on suitable support beams 12 embedded within the floor.

The base or body 7 may be of suitable welded steel construction and forms a platform 13 on which are mounted a pair of standards 14, a pair of slightly shorter standards 15 and a pair of still shorter standards 16. These standards are equally spaced along the platform 13, as seen in FIG. 3. The standards 14, 15 and 16 may be formed from T-shaped structural steel members and are welded to a bedplate which is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the platform 13, as shown at 17.

Mounted between each pair of standards 14, 15 and 16 are transverse guide members '18. These guide members are vertically spaced and, as shown in FIG. 2, each pair of standards mounts a total of eight such transverse guide members. The guide members mounted on the standards 15 are spaced at a somewhat lower elevation than those on standards 14 and the guide members mounted on standards 16 are spaced at a still lower elevation. It will now be seen that these pairs of standards 14, 15 and 16 form mountings for a total of twenty-four transverse guides 18 extending transversely of the slitting line.

As will be understood, the plurality of steel strips moves from the tensioning pit over the idler roller 4 and through the edge conditioning unit in a direction to the right, in FIG. 3. Mounted on the front and back of the platform 13 are two pairs of stanchions 19 and 20 each of which have mounted therein three equally vertically spaced sets of guide or feed rolls 21. These rolls are so positioned that strands of strip passing over the top of each roll will pass centrally through each group of eight guides mounted on the standards 14 through 16. These stanchions 20 are secured to the platform 13 in the same manner that the standards 14 through 16 are secured thereto.

Mounted on the base 7 as by welding is a bar or stop member 22. The stop member 22 may be employed with pins or other stops suitably secured to the tloor to hold the edge conditioning unit in either its in-line or retracted position clear of the slitting path.

Mounted on the transverse guide members 18 are stools 23. As shown in FIG. 6, these stools are mounted on two vertically spaced guide members 18 by means of four suitable ball bushings 24, two on each guide, which permit the stools 23 to be freely movable along the guides. Mounted on each stool 23 are a set of edge conditioning members generally shown at 25. As seen in FIG. 6, one edge conditioning member 26 is fixedly mounted on a shelf or angle member 27 extending horizontally from two vertical portions 28. These vertical portions have mounted therein ball bushings 24 and the upper portion, from which the shelf 27 extends, has mounted therein two ball bushings 24. It will now be seen that the stools may freely slide back and forth along a pair of guide members 18. It is noted that the edge conditioning members 26 and are generally similar to the edge conditioning members shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 of the aforementioned Yoder patent.

Mounted in a window W in the shelf portion 27 is a slide 29. Mounted on such slide 29 is the other edging device or member 30 of the set 25. The edging members 26 and 30 are suitably removably secured to the shelf portion 27 and the slide 29, respectively, as by nuts 31 whereby they may be replaced by ditferent size units or by new units when the old ones become worn. It will now be seen that the edging member 30 is mounted for movement toward and away from the edging member 126. The slide 29 has secured to the end thereof a keeper plate 32 as by screws 33. The keeper plate has a slot 34 extending from the bottom centrally thereof through which a reduced portion 35 of adjusting screw 36 passes. This reduced portion 35 forms a shoulder in the adjusting screw 36 which abuts against keeper plate 32. The adjusting screw is threaded into and held by an adjusting screw plate 37 afiixed to the end of the stool 23 as by screws 38. The end of the adjusting screw 36 has formed thereon a squared head 39 to enable the adjusting screw to be easily turned as by a crank or suitable power tool. Mounted on the other end of the adjusting screw 36 is a keeper slide 40 which is mounted for movement within an opening 41 within the end of slide 29. In the bight portion of the opening 41 is mounted a fixed wedge 42 which is suitably secured against movement therefrom as by flanges 43. Interposed between the fixed wedge 42 and the keeper slide 40 is an adjustable wedge 44. The adjustable wedge 44 is connected by means of pin 45 to the end of an adjusting arm 46. The other end of adjusting arm 46 rides in a slightly vertically elongated slot 47 provided in adjusting screw plate 37. Mounted on the stool 23 directly below adjusting arm 46 is a cam 48 pivoted thereto by means of a stripper bolt 49 and spacers 50 and 51. On the lower side of the cam 43 is a handle 52 welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto.

It will now be seen that the edging member 31 may be adjusted for movement toward and away from the edging member 26 by means of the adjusting screw 36. When the cam 48 is rotated to move the adjusting arm or follower 46 upwardly, as seen in FIG. 6, the adjusting arm will pivot about its point of contact within the opening 47 and cause the adjustable wedge 44 to move upwardly and increase the distance between the fixed wedge 43 and the keeper slide 40. Since the keeper slide 40 is fixed to the end of the adjusting screw 36, such upward movement must move the slide 29 toward the edging member 26. In this manner, it will be seen that the adjusting Wedge can be moved to its uppermost position, as seen in FIG. 6. The adjusting screw 36 can then be rotated to move the slide and hence the edging member 30 to its proper position relative to edging member 26 confining the edges of the strip S.

When the coil of strip S has been exhausted and a new coil is employed, the various strips coming from the slitter must again be threaded through the edging members 26 and 30. Instead of using the adjusting screw 36 to open the edging members 26 and 30, the operator need only manually release the adjustable wedge 44 by means of cam 48. This will move the adjusting wedge to the position shown in FIG. 6 permitting the edging member 30 to be moved a short distance from the edging member 26. When the strip has been threaded through the edging members, the operator need only rotate the handle 52 about the cam pivot in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 6, to move the adjusting wedge 44 to again place the edging member 30 in its proper position relative to the edging member 26 confining and bearing against the edges of the strip. It will now be seen that I have provided a quick opening device that will permit my edge conditioning unit to be quickly rethreaded when the coil is changed. It will, 'of course, be understood that the handles 52 may be remotely operated so that the operator need not place his hands within my edge conditioning unit. Such remote operation can be either electrical or hydraulic and would be especially useful on larger installations in which the middle units would be harder to reach by an operator.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be seen that the stools 23, having the edge conditioning members 26 and 30 mounted thereon, are positioned along the guide members 18 whereby each stool will accommodate one of the strips coming from the slitter. As shown schematically in FIG. 4, the strip S may be slit into as many as twenty strands, for example. These strands which pass through the tensioning pit 2 are fed into the edge conditioning unit over each roll 21. These rolls 21 are vertically so spaced as to horizontally :align the strip passing thereover with the respective edging members of each tier of stools. In this manner the strands are fed through the edge conditioning unit at six horizontal elevations or tiers, these elevations being spaced into three groups of two. The stools 23 which are mounted on the guides at the tops of the standards 14 through 16 may be inverted so that the edging members will be pendently mounted thereon. These stools then cooperate with the upright edging members on the stools on the bottom guide means of each of the standards 14 through 16 to finish or condition each of the three spaced elevations of strands. By inverting the top stools, it will be seen that a considerable amount of space saving is accomplished. Thus the standards 14 through 16 support the stools in groups to treat the strips passing through the machine in lower, intermediate and upper tier-s, respectively. Each tier comprises two rather closely spaced levels for the strips as seen in FIG. 2.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, I have shown stools spaced along the guide means 18 in such a manner as to condition or finish the edges of twenty juxtaposed strands passing through the edge conditioning unit. For the sake of clarity and convenience, each slit strand has been given the numbers 1' to 20' inclusive and the corresponding number has been assigned to the pair of edge conditioning members servicing that particular strand. As will be seen, each pair of guide means 18 can accommodate at least two stools 23. In this manner a total of eight stools are supported on the guide means extending between the standards 16, the lower stools of which condition the edges of strands 1, 7', 13' and 19. As seen in FIG. 5, the upper or inverted stools on the guides between standards 16 service or condition strands 2, 8', 14' and 2d. Mounted on the guides between standards 15, there are six stools. As seen in FIG. 4, the lower or upright stools service strands 3', 9' and 15, and the upper or inverted stools condition or service strands 4, 10' and 16'. There are also six stools mounted on the guides between standards 14, the lower or upright stools conditioning strands 5', 11 and 17' and the upper or inverted stools conditioning strands 6', 12' and 18. It will, of course, be realized that the stools may be arranged in any groups or combinations that the particular slitting operation may require.

It is noted from FIGS. 4 and 5 that the guides 18 are of suflicient length that the stools may be moved to the ends thereof so that they will be completely out of the path or line of the strip moving through the unit. In this manner, it is possible to employ any number of combination of stools, depending on the number and width of the strands being slit, the stools not needed being moved out of the slitting line. Should a stool require servicing or repair, it need only be moved to the side of the line and replaced by a stool mounted on one of the other standards.

As seen in FIG. 3, the guide means 18 are removably mounted in the standards 14 through 16 by means of keys 53 afiixed thereto as by screws or other suitable fasteners and extending through transverse slots or keyways in the guides 18. In this manner, for example, the stools mounted on other standards 15 and 16 may be employed while the stools mounted on the standards 14 may be removed from the unit for servicing or repair.

The ball bushings 24 riding on guides 18 provide a transverse floating mounting for each of the stool-s 23 and in this manner the stool can automatically compensate for camber in the strands entering between the edging members 26 and 30. Thus, if the strand is slightly curved, the stool will move transversely of the line to accommodate such camber.

Since the strands are wound upon a single coil 6, the tensioning pit 2 will accommodate any variation in length in the strands whereby they will each be wound under a uniform tension. The length of each individual coil will vary due to variations in strip gauge and condition.

From the foregoing, it will now be understood that I have provided a simple but efiective edge conditioning unit which will accommodate a multitude of strands coming from a slitter and that may be quickly and easily rethreaded after the supply is exhausted. Moreover, the edge conditioning unit may be quickly and easily adapted to various slitting requirements and may be readily repaired and serviced without causing the complete unit to be inoperative for any excessive period of time. It will, of course, be understood that my edge conditioning unit is equally applicable to a slitting line of any sheet material such 'as non-ferrous metals or certain types of plastics.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An edge conditioning unit for strips and the like comprising a plurality of pairs of edging members, adjusting means mounting one edging member of each pair for movement toward and away from the other, means mounting each pair of members for floating movement transversely of such strips and the like to compensate for camber in the strip entering each pair of edging members, said adjusting means including a movable mounting for one of the edging members of each pair, screw means connected to said mounting to move the mounting with respect to the other edging member of each pair, and wedge means interposed between said screw means and said movable mounting whereby a release of said wedge means will permit the edging members to be moved apart.

2. An edge conditioning unit for strips and the like comprising a plurality of pairs of edging members, adjusting means mounting one edging member of each pair for movement toward and away from the other, means mounting each pair of members for floating movement transversely of such strips and the like to compensate for camber in the strip entering each pair of edging members, said adjusting means including a movable mounting for one of said edging members of each pair, screw means connected to said mounting to move the mounting with respect to the other edging member of each pair, and wedge means interposed between said screw means and said movable mounting whereby a release of said wedge means will permit the edging members to be moved apart, said wedge means being operated by cam means.

3. An edge conditioning unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cam means comprises a manually operable cam pivoted at a point a fixed distance from said other edging member and a cam follower pivoted to said wedge means and mounted for movement with said screw means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 591,713 Worth Oct. 12, 1897 844,349 Hale Feb. 19, 1907 1,354,976 Jones Oct. 5, 1920 2,201,214 Yoder May 21, 1940 2,216,869 Yoder Oct. 8, 1940 2,635,493 Schum-acher Apr. 21, 1953 2,767,602 Henrickson Oct. 23, 1956 2,775,151 Schumacher Dec. 25, 1956 2,829,697 Rockhofi et a1 Apr. 8, 1958 2,902,893 Ungerer Sept. 8, 1959 

1. AN EDGE CONDITIONING UNIT FOR STRIPS AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF EDGING MEMBERS, ADJUSTING MEANS MOUNTING ONE EDGING MEMBER OF EACH PAIR OF MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER, MEANS MOUNTING EACH PAIR OF MEMBERS FOR FLOATING MOVEMENT TRANSVERSELY OF SUCH STRIPS AND THE LIKE TO COMPENSATE FOR CAMBER IN THE STRIP ENTERING EACH PAIR OF EDGING MEMBERS, SAID ADJUSTING MEANS INCLUDING A MOVABLE MOUNTING FOR 